


Homecoming

by cabin12kiddos



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Cinnabon, Ed Sheeran - Freeform, F/F, F/M, Homecoming, castle on the hill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:46:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24758782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cabin12kiddos/pseuds/cabin12kiddos
Summary: When the Coronavirus shuts down her college campus, Clarisse goes home, but not to her mom's in Arizona.
Relationships: Clarisse La Rue/Chris Rodriguez, Silena Beauregard/Clarisse La Rue
Comments: 4
Kudos: 54





	Homecoming

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was inspired by @abbyberge on TikTok!

Clarisse took a deep breath as she stepped off the bus. She made her way to an unoccupied bench, set down her bags, and looked around, desperate to get a glimpse of him. It had been months since she’d seen her boyfriend in person, and while this wasn’t exactly the brightest of reasons for an impromptu homecoming, she couldn’t complain. 

School had never been Clarisse’s forte. From a young age, she struggled with staying still in class, and learning basic reading skills, a result of her standard demigod ADHD and dyslexia. And thanks to her specific parentage, she had been suspended more times than she could count for the endless fights that somehow always seemed to break out around  _ her _ . 

While schooling had become far easier at CHB, Clarisse never thought it would actually land her a spot in a real, completely mortal college. At the time, she didn’t know if she had the guts to leave her safe haven, her home. But Chris had convinced her, promising he would only be a state away, studying cyber security at the University of Nevada. 

It was hard, leaving the mythological world for the first time in years, being Clarisse La Rue, student at Arizona U, instead of Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares. Little did Clarisse know, that was the easy part. She practically tamed the local monsters, none of them were bold enough to attack the daughter of war after the first couple months. But being on her own in the classroom again, having to learn  _ their _ way, not  _ her _ way, was more difficult than she gave the summer campers credit for. 

She had barely made it through her first year, she had no idea how Katie was making the dean’s list, captaining the volleyball team,  _ and _ rushing a sorority. But nonetheless, Clarisse persisted, never giving up a fight. She finished her freshman year with decent grades, a reputation for high alcohol tolerance, and even a solid mortal friend circle. 

Her sophomore year was a different story. Clarisse thought she had gotten the hang of this studying-based-solely-on-lecture-notes thing, but apparently not, because several of her professors had decided she wasn’t paying enough attention to pass her, as it seemed,  _ endless  _ exams. Luckily, the university had decided to be extra lenient on grading due to the growing pandemic. Clarisse had almost sent an offering of thanks to Apollo when she was informed the campus would be closing until further notice. 

After a short, surprisingly grownup sounding discussion, Chris and Clarisse had decided to pay their respective mortal mothers a visit before meeting in New York and making their way to Camp Half-Blood -to  _ home _ \- to quarantine with their half siblings along with each other. It was just the break Clarisse had needed. 

Settling into the bench, Clarisse nervously fidgeted with her camp necklace, knowing each and every bead without having to look at them. Her face fell as her fingers brushed an engraving of the Empire State Building. She could feel the microscopic letters, spelling out the names of the fallen half-bloods, her best friend among them. 

It had been weeks since Clarisse had thought about her, probably a record. She wiped a knuckle across her face, clearing the tear forming in the corner of her eye. She had promised herself she wouldn’t cry anymore. She had done plenty of that already, and Silena wouldn’t want her to be upset about the memory so many years later, “ruining the present by tainting it with the past” as she would say. 

Instead, Clarisse focused on sweeter memories of the daughter of Aphrodite: the look of pure, unbridled joy on her flawless face as she ascended into the clouds, riding the back of a pegasus. Her dazzling, color changing eyes illuminating in the light of a campfire. Her cold gaze as she faced Clarisse in the sword training arena, determined to fight, even knowing she could never win against a daughter of Ares. The feeling of her soft, perfectly manicured hands running through Clarisse’s hair as she attempted to rangle the thick brown curls into a pair of braids. 

The smile creeping across her face almost distracted her from the thin figure approaching the bench. “Hey, beautiful,” he whispered, as if afraid of waking her from a long nap. Clarisse’s eyes lit up and she threw her arms around him, enveloping her boyfriend in a massive hug. 

“You’re here,” she said into his neck, drinking in the familiar smell of his cologne. “You thought I would stand you up?” “Have you  _ met _ your siblings? You Hermes kids aren’t exactly known for your reliability.” Chris laughed, pressing his tan forehead against Clarisse’s, making it seem pale in comparison. 

He pulled away, and gesturing to her bags said, “How about I get those for you, and you go get us some bus depot Cinnabon and pick an ‘I’m finally home’ worthy playlist?” Clarisse chuckled. “Funny. How about  _ I _ take the bags because it’ll take me less time, and  _ you _ get the Cinnabon because I don’t know what I want and you do, and  _ you _ pick the music because we both know you’re going to hate whatever I put on.” 

He grinned. “Deal.” Pecking her on the forehead, Chris handed her the keys and moved away from the bench, toward the coveted Cinnabon. Clarisse, meanwhile, hefted their combined luggage onto her shoulders, making a beeline for the car.

After loading the bags into the trunk and claiming her familiar place as shotgun, Chris plopped himself next to her with offerings of sticky cinnamon buns. He walked her through their different homecoming playlist options, laughing as she scowled at the “ridiculous” amount of Ed Sheeran occupying the iPod’s data. 

The drive home was short, under an hour, but it felt like a lifetime to Clarisse. The familiarity of the situation was a little alarming. Nothing had changed in Long Island. She still knew every divet in the road, every broken post in the fence, every wild strawberry bush that grew along the asphalt. She lazily stuck her hand out the window, feeling the wind rushing between her fingers as “Castle on the Hill” blared from the camery’s outdated speakers. Clarisse closed her eyes, letting the lyrics sink into her. 

As Ed Sheeran sang his last note, she felt the vehicle turn onto the dirt road. Raising her eyelids, she gazed out the window, spying the produce containment center. After Chris parked the car three spaces down from a Delphi’s Strawberry Service van, he turned to her, flashing that mischievous Hermes grin. “You ready to go home?” he asked. “Always,” she replied. 

Shouldering their bags, the two demigods trekked into the woods, following the invisible path. As they walked, they shared memories of old, reminiscing their time as children at a summer camp. 

“And do you remember our old makeout spot in the woods?” Clarisse gasped. “The one by the boulder, yes! Well, according to Mark, it’s Austin and Lacy’s makeout spot now.” He shrugged. “Eh, we’ll just have to reassert our dominance. Besides, what could they possibly be doing? They’re like  _ twelve _ .” 

“First of all, they’re  _ fourteen _ , gonna be high school freshmen next year, and we were fourteen once too, we figured things out pretty quick.” Clarisse gave a knowing look, watching Chris’s face redden. “ _ And _ I don’t have to remind you that Lacy is a daughter of Aphrodite, these things are natural for her.” She paused before, “She sounds happy, in the letters she sends. Austin seems like a nice, upstanding guy. Will set him a good example.” 

The couple walked on, catching each other up on the camp gossip they’d learned through the mail sent by their friends and siblings. Suddenly, Clarisse stopped in her tracks. Chris came to a halt beside her, smiling up at the familiar marble archway, the Ancient Greek reading “Camp Half-Blood”. Clarisse had never felt so relieved to see those words in her life, not even with monsters on her heels. 

The demigods walked inside the barrier, feeling the magical warmth surround them. Campers rushed about, transporting supplies to the infirmary, gearing up for capture the flag, and enjoying popsicles as if it were July and not mid March.

As they moved away from the entrance, more familiar faces appeared. Clarisse smiled as her brother’s girlfriend, Miranda, waved at her from the volleyball courts. She spotted Chris’s younger sister, Alice, frowning at an incomplete marble bust in the arts and crafts pavilion. From a distance she spied her friend Nico, petting a skeleton kitten at the edge of the woods. 

Finally, the couple came to the cabin area. Chris turned to Clarisse, giving her a kiss goodbye, before turning around to find his five siblings about to tackle him in a massive, group bear hug. 

Smiling to herself, Clarisse left the joyful Hermes Cabin to toture their oldest brother to their hearts’ contents. She made the short walk to Cabin Five, dropping her bags on the ground in front of the porch. She took a deep breath, letting the feeling wash over her and drinking in the scent of her happy place.

Her peaceful moment however, was interrupted by the slamming open of the cabin’s door, revealing a young boy in a bright orange t-shirt. After a moment of studying the girl before him, his face lit up, and he ran back inside the cabin. “Hey, everybody!” he yelled. “Guess who’s here?!” 

A group of boys, all older than the one in orange, came to the doorframe. As they registered their visiter, their faces changed from hostile to shocked to ecstatic. Clarisse stood before her brood of little brothers, her arms widening for a hug. “There’s my boys. Guess who’s home?” 


End file.
